REQUIRED TEXTBOOKS
„Á Parkay, F. W. & Stanford, B. H. (2003). Becoming a teacher
(6th ed.). Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
„Á Wright, E. (Ed.) (1999). Why I teach. Roseville, CA: Prima.
CAVEAT
This syllabus is subject to change at the discretion of the
instructor, in order to facilitate effective coverage and delivery of
course content. In particular it is highly likely that several days
may be switched around to accommodate guest speakers. I will inform
you of any changes at the earliest possible in class and/or through
Oncourse announcements. For your part, please check Oncourse well
before class to verify class readings and assignments. Your
flexibility and cooperation is appreciated.
ONCOURSE
Please log onto http://oncourse.iu.edu as soon as possible. Click
on "F200 Section 5858 EXAMINING SELF AS TEACHER" and "list" yourself
in the class. This will provide you access to the syllabus, the class
schedule for the entire semester, all course announcements, your
grades in each assignment (confidential and available only to you),
etc. This will also facilitate online group discussions, which we may
need later in the semester. You can print off a copy of the
syllabus/schedule from here. Please familiarize yourself with this
online module as most instructors at IU are/will be using it.
IMPORTANT NOTES
Students with disabilities: Students with visual, hearing, physical,
and/or learning disabilities, who may require modification of the
curriculum, method of instruction or assessment should contact the
instructor. I wish to fully include persons with disabilities in
this course. Modifications and accommodations will be made after the
student has presented documentation indicating qualification for
services from DSS (Disabled Student Services). Please refer
http://dsa.indiana.edu/dss.html for eligibility requirements.
Academic Misconduct - Cheating and Plagiarism: Assignments presented
in this class must be your original work and should not be copied
or "borrowed" from others. If you refer to work belonging to others,
please include the proper citation. Please refer to
http://www.libraries.iub.edu/index.php?pageId=337 for information on
how to cite resources in different styles (APA, MLA, etc.) Cheating,
plagiarism, or other acts of student misconduct as defined in the
I.U. Code of Student Rights, Responsibilities and Conduct, could
result in an assignment grade of zero and/or an alert to the Dean's
office.
Sexual Harassment, Racial/Ethnic Discrimination and Slurs, or any
other student misconduct that adversely affect the learning or safety
of other students will not be tolerated in this classroom or on this
campus. If any student becomes aware of any of these activities, or
feels they have been the victim of sexual harassment, racial/ethnic
discrimination, or any other act of malicious intent, please contact
me or Pam Freeman at the Student Ethics Division, IUˇ¦s Racial
Incidents Team, or the Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Anti-Harassment
Team. For more information about this please refer
http://dsa.indiana.edu/.
OVERVIEW OF THE COURSE
Many of you may come to this course with questions about your career
and your life. What does it take to be a teacher? Is teaching for
me? What do I really want to do with the rest of my life? I think I
want to be a teacher but I am not sure if I have what it takes.
Choosing a career is a process involving self-assessment, career
exploration, planning and follow-through. The purpose of this course
is to present opportunities for you to confront the questions that
are important to you and to help you to move toward a better
understanding of whether teaching is what you want to do.
The class will explore a wide variety of issues and cover a great
deal of ground, blending self-exploration with concrete analysis of
the teaching profession. It will look at teaching from many
different angles and perspectives, integrating key concepts with real
life experiences. This will also include a first-hand experience of
a classroom, with each student spending some time in a school,
working with students, learning with them and working with their
teacher. This experience can be used as a valuable learning and
decision-making tool.
In an atmosphere of respect and encouragement, each class will employ
a wide variety of teaching methods to allow you to experience
different methods of learning. You will be invited to explore
yourself, empathize with others, challenge yourself to think, learn,
dream, play, feel deeply, act respectfully, and to take
responsibility for your own and othersˇ¦ learning.
EXPECTATIONS OF ALL WRITTEN WORK
1. All papers should be double-spaced and in 12-point font
(Times New Roman).
2. Printed on white paper (no hand written work will be
accepted).
3. Use black font only.
4. Use regular (8 1/2 inch X 11 inch) paper.
5. Paragraphs and margins must be standard (1 inch or 1.25
inches).
6. Use of spelling and grammar checks means there should be no
any spelling or grammatical errors!
7. Have someone read through your work to trap errors that "slip
through the net" for e.g., "form" instead of "from," that may not
show up on the spell/grammar check.
8. Use words correctly. If you are not sure that the word you
are using is correct, check the dictionary.
9. Do not use contractions in any professional writing, such as,
don't, can't, there's, it's, etc.
10. Please avoid slang, conversational speech and
colloquialisms. Examples of these are, ˇ§It was real good to find
this outˇ¨ (colloquial), ˇ§She was so coolˇ¨ (slang) and ˇ§I kinda liked
thatˇ¨ (conversational). For more information on this topic, please
refer to the writing center at IU at
http://www.indiana.edu/%7Ewts/wts/
11. Papers not meeting the above criteria will be heavily
penalized. For example, several spelling mistakes on a two-page paper
may result in a drop of one or two whole letter grades.
12. Please do not cut and paste from previous paper to construct
your final paper. This will be apparent and spoil your chances for a
better grade.
13. This class is intended to help your self-awareness through a
series of reflective activities/papers. Therefore, there will be no
emphasis on academic rigor in your papers in terms of APA formatting,
unless you choose to follow it. However, your papers must show that
you have invested a significant amount of time, thought and attention
to the topic.
ASSIGNMENTS
CLASS ATTENDANCE/PARTICIPATION (30 points)
You are strongly encouraged to actively participate in this class.
This means that you come prepared by having read and completed
assigned materials, ask questions, make comments, and reflect aloud.
You will need this from your students one day- SO ENGAGE!
Also, because it is often difficult for me to objectively assess
oneˇ¦s participation, each of you will be responsible for proposing
your own participation in this class. Questions for you to consider
when thinking about this matter are: Do I come to class prepared by
having read the assigned chapters? Do I offer my thoughts and
feelings during class discussions? Have I helped to create an open
and safe learning environment?
Regular class attendance is expected. Additionally, no late papers
will be accepted except for sickness excused by accompanying doctorˇ¦s
note or family emergencies such as death. So, please plan
accordingly and give yourself ample amount of time to finish your
assignment.
IDENTITY COLLAGE (15 points)
Time: 5 minutes.
As part of our community building activities, you will design a
collage on regular-sized poster board (approximately 24ˇ¨ X 36ˇ¨),
which describes who you are as an individual and as a future
professional. You may use photographs, magazine pictures, quotes,
etc., to design your collage. Information that you may want to
include, but are not limited to, in your collage are: family
history, birthplace, unique characteristics, accomplishments, career
goals etc. You are also welcome to bring in additional items (e.g.,
favorite book or favorite instrument), which will not fit on your
poster. You will present your collage in class on the first day of
the second week of class (Sep 9th, Tuesday).
CRITICAL REFLECTION PAPERS (3X15 points)
Length: 2 pages
These papers are intended to help organize your thoughts and beliefs
about teaching as a profession. These papers are designed to help you
do some introspection and identify reasons for wanting to teach, to
support those reasons with your strengths and beliefs, and also
examine areas for improvement. These papers will form the beginning
stages of your decision-making process of whether or not to be a
teacher. Please take the time, effort and energy to put down your
honest and sincere thoughts.
Critical Reflection #1 What am I interested in teaching? Why am I
interested in teaching?
Critical Reflection #2 What were the characteristics of my favorite
teacher? What were the characteristics of my least favorite teacher?
Critical Reflection #3 What are my strengths as a teacher? What are
the areas for improvement?
LESSON PLAN (30 points)
Length: 12 minutes
Each of will you will teach a lesson for a period of 10-12 minutes.
This can be in any topic of your choice (Please Note: Instructor
approval needed ˇV submit ideas by September 30, 2003). You may use
lesson plans that already exist, i.e. you do not have to create one
if you do not want to. If you use an existing lesson plan, please
cite the source, whether electronic or paper.
REFLECTION PAPERS ( 30 points)
Length: Minimum 1 page, maximum 2
These will be your reactions to the readings for the day and/or video
watched and/or guest lecture.
Guidelines:
1. What did I like/dislike?
2. What did I learn?
(I would like to know what your thoughts are about these readings.
Please do not give me a summary of the readings or the video/speaker
lecture.)
The reading reflections are due the day it is to be discussed in
class.
In case of a video or guest lecture reflection, it is due the
following class day.
Please refer to the schedule for exact due dates.
COLLABORATIVE INQUIRY & CLASS PRESENTATION (45 points)
Presentation time: 10 minutes
Class feedback: 5 minutes
Total time: 15 minutes (time will be clocked)
You will work in groups of four.
Everyone must participate in the speaking part of the presentation.
The topic can be any current topic in education/ teaching. (Please
get your topic approved by October 2nd)
An annotated bibliography of references and sources of your research
are required to be turned in on the day of your presentation.
FIELD EXPERIENCE ( 3 Journal entries- 10 points each)
Length: Minimum 1 page, maximum 2
The field experience is a valuable component of the class.
You will observe for 8-10 hours in a classroom as a requirement of
F200.
You will each work in a school under the supervision of a classroom
teacher.
Typically, most students fulfill this requirement in two-hour blocks
over four or five weeks.
Additionally, you will be responsible for keeping a journal to record
your experiences in the field.
Please note: This field experience is not in lieu of F200 class
time. It is to be fitted in outside of this class time.
TERM PAPER (45 points)
Length: 10 pages
First draft required. Final Date: November 18th, 2003.
This paper should be an essay describing what you have learned about
teaching and about yourself as a teacher. It should include your
decision at this time and an exploration of the factors that led you
to this. The title is up to you.
Include:
„Á Where you are in the process of decision-making? (yes, no,
still unsure)
„Á How (if) your thinking has changed over the course of the
semester?
„Á What factors have influenced this change and how? (field
experience, a class discussion or paper, or some of the readings ˇV
Please be specific.) If your thoughts have just been reinforced, then
what has reinforced them?
„Á What are the key factors in your thinking to date about this
subject? Has this changed? (For example, you were focused on long
holidays and are now worried about money or classroom management)
MYERS BRIGGS TEMPERAMENT INDICATOR
There will be a small charge of $10 to take the test that goes toward
meeting the Career Development Centerˇ¦s costs. This is a tool that
can be used to help you make a decision about your career choice and
what profession you may be best suited for.
More information will be provided during class time and instructions
given on how to take the test and when. This is a required part of
the class. Exception: If any of you have taken the test before and
have the results with you, then, you are exempt from taking it again.
You will need to bring the results in on the day of the
interpretation.
PORTFOLIO (30 points)
Length: As needed to do the portfolio justice and to represent
yourself well.
The purpose of the portfolio is to create an anthology of all your
experiences. This type of document is being used increasingly in the
education field for the purpose of interviews, and so practice at
this is a significant part of professional preparation. Graduates of
teacher education programs at Indiana University have extensive
portfolios that represent their undergraduate work.
It also serves the purpose of focusing all the learning from the
semester into one document and therefore allows for each student to
synthesize their learning and bring the salient issues related to
their exploration into perspective.
It should be presented in a professional manner. This means that it
should all be printed out on a computer and attention should be paid
to the folder, the documents inside, and the organization of the
material. Considerable grade weighting will be given to presentation
style.
The portfolio must include:
„Á It should be presented in a professional folder or file
binder with
o An appropriate title page
o An index
„Á Clean (unmarked) copies of ALL your papers and journal
entries (term paper, all critical reflection papers, all reflections
(readings, video and speaker), lesson plan, materials from your group
project, all journal entries related to your field
experience/volunteer opportunity)
„Á A written piece on the Myers-Briggs results and
interpretation. (Did you find this helpful? How?) This will be given
some grade weighting.
„Á A written piece (between two and three pages) outlining how
the field experience/volunteer experience has helped your decision-
making process with regards to teaching. This will be given
considerable grade weighting.
„Á The major weight of the grading will be given to
completeness, presentation and the report on the field experience.
Other included papers will be noted, but their prior grade not
included.
EVALUATION
There will be several components to your overall class grade:
Class participation / attendance 10% 30 Points
Identity Collage 5% 15
Critical Reflection papers 15% 45 (15 each)
Reflection papers 10% 30
Lesson plan 10% 30
Collaborative Inquiry 15% 45
Journal entries 10% 30 (10 each)
Term paper 15% 45
Portfolio 10% 30
Total 100% 300 points
GRADING SCALE
A+ 98-100%
A 94-97%
A- 90-93%
B+ 88-89%
B 84-87%
B- 80-83%
C+ 78-79%
C 74-77%
C- 70-73%
D+ 68-69%
D 64-67%
D- 60-63%
F 59% and below
CLASS ATTENDANCE POLICY
Additionally, regular class attendance is expected. More than two
unexcused absences in a semester will result in the course grade
being lessened by a half letter grade. Four absences will result in
the course grade being lessened by another half letter grade. Every
other absence after this will result in a full letter grade being
deducted. Therefore, for five unexcused absences, with a starting
grade of an ˇ§Aˇ¨, the grade will drop to an A- at three, to a B+ at
four, and to a C+ at five.
An excused absence for health reasons must be accompanied by a
doctorˇ¦s note. Personal loss or bereavement is also grounds for an
excused absence in consultation with the instructor.
If a student shows up late to class and misses roll, then it is the
studentˇ¦s responsibility to approach the instructor at the end of the
class and ensure that they have not been marked absent. Failure to
do this at the time will not be rectified later.
LATE ASSIGNMENTS
Assignments turned in late will be heavily penalized, except for
sickness excused by accompanying doctorˇ¦s note or family emergencies
such as death. So, please plan accordingly and give yourself ample
amount of time to finish your assignment.
Failure to turn in an assignment will result in a grade of zero for
that assignment.
An assignment turned in 24 hours late will result in a 10% of the
grade for that assignment.
For every week it is late, there will be a reduction of 20% of the
grade for that assignment.
LOCATION OF MY OFFICE SPACE
My cubicle/office is at the back, on the left-hand side.
SCHEDULE OF CLASSES
Date Topic
9-2 Tue Introduction
9-4 Thurs Community building
Due: 1. Written days and times available for field
experience in blocks of 3 hours or more.
2. "Confirmation Certificate" after successfully completing
the "Test" on plagiarism
http://education.indiana.edu/~frick/plagiarism/
3. (Written) Idea on what you hope to teach
9-9 Tue Identity collage sharing
Due: Identity Collage.
9-11 Thurs Chapter 1, Volunteer opportunities revisited
Stories ˇV To Change a Life (pp.189-193), Bad Day, Good Day (pp.185-
187), Care Packages (pp.181-83), Beyond Street
Smarts (pp. 177-180)
Due: Critical Reflection Question 1
Reflection 1 (stories)
9-16 Tue Chapter 2
Stories ˇV Give me more (pp.153-155), Back to School (pp.115-117), I
knew he could do it (pp.109-113), Planting Seeds of Love (pp.61-64)
Due: Reflection 2 (stories)
9-18 Thurs Chapter 4
Stories ˇV Big Guy (pp.99-104), A Star Named Russell
(pp. 67-73), A Good Kid (pp.23-25)
Labor of Love (pp.93-97)
Due: 1. Reflection 3 (stories)
2. Critical Reflection Question 2
9-23 Tue Chapter 2 conˇ¦t, Guest Speakers from the Office of
Student Teaching
Stories ˇV Lessons Carved in Stone (pp.27-32), The Student
Teacher (pp. 135-137), Love and Loss (pp. 9-10), Exchange of Gifts
(pp.79-82)
Due: Reflection 4 (stories)
9-25 Thurs Chapter 6
Stories ˇV Role Reversal (pp.83-86), Full Circle
(pp.105-108), A Very Special Delivery (pp. 5-8)
Due: 1. Reflection 5 (Guest Speakers from the Office of Student
Teaching)
2. Reflection 6 (stories)
9-30 Tue Chapter 7, Video - "Starting Small"
Stories ˇV Celebrate the Differences (pp.45-50), Tilman Speaks of
Alligators (pp.33-38), View from Down Under (pp.51-54), Gifts from
the heart (pp.39-44)
Due: 1. Reflection 7 (stories)
2. Print out of Lesson Plan idea(s) due for approval
10-2 Thurs Chapter 7 (continued)
Due: 1. Reflection 8 (Article)
2. Reflection 9 (Video ˇ§Starting Smallˇ¨)
3. Printout of Collaborative Inquiry Project topic due for approval
10-7 Tue Chapter 8
Stories ˇV Amazing Grace (pp.167-171, No Matter (pp.159-162), Special
Needs Special Gifts (149-152), Learning the Ropes (pp. 11-14)
Due: Reflection 10 (stories)
10-9 Thurs Chapter 9, Guest Speaker?
Stories ˇV The Mechanics of Learning (pp.15-21), Teacherˇ¦s Report Card
(pp.75-77), Lessons in Lipstick (pp.125-133), Lesson Plan at the
Fountain (pp. 143-147)
Due: Reflection 11 (stories)
10-14 Tue Chapter 13, Video - "First Year"
Due: Critical Reflection Question 3
10-16 Thurs Chapter 13, Video - "First Year" continued
Stories ˇV New Insight (pp. 173-176), I Touch the
Future (pp.87-92), A teaching Legacy (pp. 1-3)
Due: Reflection 12 (stories)
10-21 Tue Chapter 13, Guest Speakers from the Office of Teacher
Education
Stories ˇV Long-term Benefits (pp. 139-142), Perils of a pre-school
Husband (pp.119-123), Loose Change (pp. 65-66), A Night to Remember
(pp. 55-60)
Due: Reflection 13 (stories)
Reflection 14 (video "First Year")
10-23 Thurs Chapter 12, Mid-term Evaluation
Due: Reflection 15 (Guest Speakers from the Office of
Teacher Education)
10-28 Tue Teacher Panel
Due: Lesson Plan
10-30 Thurs Collaborative Inquiry Presentations (5 groups x 15
minutes)
Due: Reflection 16 (Panel)
11-4 Tue Collaborative Inquiry Presentations (2 groups x 15
minutes)
Lesson Plan (3 x 12 minutes)
Early Field Experience (EFE) feedback
11-6 Thurs Lesson Plan (5 x 12 minutes)
EFE feedback
11-11 Tue Lesson Plan (5 x 12 minutes) / EFE feedback
*MAKE SURE TO TAKE THE PERSONALITY TEST SOON
11-13 Thurs Lesson Plan (5 x 12 minutes) / EFE feedback
*MAKE SURE TO TAKE THE PERSONALITY TEST SOON
11-18 Tue Lesson Plan (5 x 12 minutes) / EFE feedback
*MAKE SURE TO TAKE THE PERSONALITY TEST SOON
Due: Final date for submission of rough draft of Term Paper
11-20 Thurs Lesson Plan (5 x 12 minutes) / EFE feedback
*MAKE SURE TO TAKE THE PERSONALITY TEST SOON
11-25 Tue Chapter 11 (may be held in a lab)
Due: Term Paper
11-27 Thurs Happy Thanksgiving!
12-2 Tue Career Development Center Representatives - MBTI
interpretation
Due: Bring the personality test results to class
12-4 Thurs EFE/ volunteer activities reflections
Due: Portfolio (include EFE/volunteer activities
reflection and MBTI reflection)
12-9 Tue Managing your stress
Final reflections
12-11 Thurs Final reflections
Stories ˇV The Lyric Passage (pp.163-166), An
Unexpected Tribute (pp.157-158)
Final evaluations
No final exam.
Happy Holidays!!